News
Debt ceiling agreement locks in Biden’s proposed defense budget
The debt ceiling agreement negotiated between House Republican leaders and the White House would cap the defense budget topline at President Joe Biden’s $886 billion request for fiscal 2024, a 3.3 percent increase over this year.
New US aid package for Ukraine will total about $300 million
U.S. officials say a military aid package for Ukraine that is expected to be announced this week will include additional munitions for drones.
US pressured to secure Persian Gulf after Iran seizes tankers
The United Arab Emirates has pressed the U.S. to make more muscular moves to deter Iran after the Islamic Republic’s military seized two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in recent weeks.
Estonia will ask for a clearer path for Ukraine to join NATO
In Europe, defense ministers and military experts worry that the world is not learning the lessons from Ukraine quickly enough.
Business
Poland buys 800 Hellfire missiles to arms its new attack helicopters
The Polish government has signed a deal to purchase 800 Hellfire II missiles that are to be carried by a new fleet of attack helicopters, with a request to buy Boeing AH-64E Apaches still in the pipeline.
Germany buys 18 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks to replace those sent to Ukraine
The contract includes an option for an addition 105 tanks, in what would reportedly be a $3.2 billion purchase should the government proceed with the whole lot.
Defense
Auditors: Over 1 million F-35 spare parts lost by DOD and Lockheed
More than 1 million F-35 spare parts worth at least $85 million have gone missing over at least the last five years, according to a new Government Accountability Office report criticizing the program’s supply tracking.
DOD sends new cyber strategy, informed by Russian invasion, to Congress
Many of the themes presented in the strategy are familiar to what officials have talked about in the past when it comes to the department’s cyberspace operations, but full details are classified.
Army says it’s made ‘significant improvements’ to its troubled new infantry squad vehicle
Fighting from the Infantry Squad Vehicle “is not the intended use of the platform,” an Army spokesman said.
Veterans
Veterans program funding ends up a winner in debt limit deal
Funding for veterans programs would go from being one of the most contentious spending debates on Capitol Hill to a bipartisan budget highlight under the debt limit deal set to be voted on by lawmakers this week.
Veterans Affairs medical sites drop mandatory mask requirements
The Department of Veterans Affairs on May 30 relaxed mandatory masking requirements at medical facilities across the country, dropping one of the final vestiges of the coronavirus pandemic of the last three years.
Air Force veteran once imprisoned for being gay still endures the stigma of a felony record
An estimated 100,000 LGBTQ service members were kicked out of the military between World War II and the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2010.